Cursed!: The Power of Magic in the Ancient World

A bewitching study of magical objects from ancient societies, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome

Published with Toledo Museum of Art.

The belief in magic was widespread across ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. In these societies, the world was believed to be populated by divine forces, and magicians (also called sorcerers, witches and shamans) could manipulate supernatural powers through the performance of rituals and recitation of spells to achieve a wide range of aims, including protection from demonic harm, healing various medical ailments, attracting lovers, cursing enemies and even winning in the law courts and at the racetrack. This volume, published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name at the Toledo Museum of Art, explores how the supernatural was visualized in these societies and how magic was actually practiced in the period from around 2000 BCE to 300 CE. It displays and studies magical objects from each of these regions, including protective objects, written records of spells and images of supernatural beings.